26 years after float was destroyed in riot, town gets a new one

Group of Native Americans upset at portrayal of Chief Sleepy Eye destroyed town's float in 1971.

Joshua Dixon

Twenty-six years after its float was destroyed in a riot, Sleepy Eye's parade float is back.

On July 25, 1971, then-Sleepy Eye queen Sherry O'Hare rode the official Sleepy Eye parade float in the Aquatennial Torchlight parade in the Twin Cities. By her side were attendants Janet Peterson, Carol Mattson and Sue Horne, and the previous Sleepy Eye Queen, Denice Lee.

The girls all wore Native American-style costumes to commemorate Chief Sleepy Eye, namesake of the town. Everything was going fine as the float was towed through the streets.

Suddenly, the Sleepy Eye float was the target of 40 or 50 angry Native American activists. The protesters rushed the float, throwing cans and ripping pieces off the sides. A model head representing Chief Sleepy Eye was torn off.

The float was patched up, and in the year after that, it made a few more appearances at local events. But then it quietly disappeared.

Last year, Sleepy Eye City Councilor Gary Windschitl decided it was time for the town to have its float back, even if it had to be a new one. He managed to finagle a small donation from the city and got to work.

After tossing around ideas, they decided to go with a lake theme to celebrate the town's most picturesque feature and to make it as benign as possible. The leading edge features a man-made beach, complete with sand. Shiny plastic representing water contains a pier for the royalty to sit on.

The new float made its debut June 18 at the annual Mountain Lake parade.